Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

The Hardy boys' success at solving mysteries was largely due to their ability to think quickly and take immediate action. They had done exactly that once again and were thusly bound for the big metropolis on the fast moving train. But the boys had no doubts about their ability to handle whatever they might come up against in New York . They were excited and eagerly anticipating the adventure ahead.

"I hope we don't lose him at the train station," Joe said, as the Flying Express rattled on. "There's bound to be a big crowd there."

"We'll just have to keep on our toes," replied Frank. "Besides, we're just as good at tailing suspects as any professional detectives."

Joe mused that over in his mind for a moment. "Even Dad?"

Frank grinned. "Well, maybe not quite so good as Dad."

"Funny how we and Dad are after the same suspect," Joe reflected. "Maybe we'll run into Dad in New York . Wouldn't that be something?"

Frank chuckled. "He'll have a kiniption fit, too. The entire family will be angry at us."

"You said it. But we can't allow a good clue like this to pass by. Question Mark may lead us right to the Mysterians' Inner Sanctum!"

At length, the express train reached the outer suburbs of New York and roared past miles of neat little towns with row after row of houses, sometimes all connected to each other the whole block long. Factories and warehouses came into view along the ever increasingly wider tracks and train yards. The boys became greatly excited when the tall skyscrapers of Manhattan came into view, and then the train shot over a bridge spanning the river and they were in Manhattan itself flying over crowded streets, past the big stores and tall buildings, and then down into the darkness of the tunnels that led to Grand Central Station.

The boys scrambled out the back door of the coach as soon as the Flying Express had pulled to a stop at the platform. They would take no chance at losing site of the cult leader! The passengers started filing down the steps of the car's forward door and soon their quarry moved along in their midst. He was so tall, and the fur hat stuck up even further, it was impossible not to see him clearly. The boys followed him through the gates into the cavernous vaulted station echoing with a million different sounds, and kept him easily in view as the throng moved out onto the street.

"Whew! That was tough," Frank complained, as they stepped out of the station. "We're not used to crowds like this."

Joe nodded back. "But the worst may yet be to come. Who knows where the heck he's going to? And look at all the people out here. Sheez!"

The boys weren't used to such a huge gathering of people as the big crowds on 42nd Street , every one of whom was seemingly intent on what they were doing and paying little attention to their surroundings. Christmas decorations were still displayed along the light posts and in the store windows, but the mood of the crowd was not a holiday one. The boys instinctively knew that everyone was out for himself in the crush. They not only had to keep the cloaked man in view, but they also had to watch that no one bowled them over.

"Cripes! This is like playing football," Joe grunted, after a middle-aged man banged right into him, then gave him a dirty look as if it had been his fault.

"In that case, we're in for some major interference," Frank groaned. "Look, he's going down into that subway!"

"Doggone it!" Joe seethed, as they both quickened their pace.

The boys ran down the stairs into the subway station and saw the man they were following drop a token into one of the stiles and push his way through. Frank had to run to the window to buy tokens while Joe inched forward to keep his eye on the man who was now walking down a hall in the direction of the downtown trains. Finally Frank joined him and they dropped tokens into the slots and burst through the stiles. Joe pointed down the tiled hallway that led to the downtown train platforms. The cloaked man was out of sight now.

"He went that way! Downtown trains! Gosh, I hope we didn't lose him!"

Frank, being the faster runner of the two, grabbed Joe's shoulder and pulled him along as he raced down the corridor. There came a stairway and they scrambled down it, then came to a sudden halt as they reached a crowded platform overlooking the tracks. Joe spotted the man in the tall fur hat, who was standing at the edge of the platform surrounded by a score of other subway riders. He pointed him out to Frank and, not a second later, a subway train came roaring into the station, its wheels screeching as it sidled up to the platform.

"We've got to get in the same car he gets in," Frank shouted over the din, pushing his way through the crowd.

Joe followed, holding onto his brother's jacket sleeve, and they managed to pile through the car's back door with a good portion of the crowd. They didn't take seats but instead stood holding onto the ceiling straps and facing the back of the car. Frank slowly turned toward the front where the cult leader had entered. The man had planted himself by the front doors and was holding onto an overhead bar.

The train lurched and then picked up speed and went rattling down the tunnel. Its velocity increased and soon it was flying ahead at an amazing speed. Frank and Joe looked at each other with raised eyebrows. They had never been on a subway before and didn't know the trains traveled so fast.

Swoosh! The train sped right through a station, not stopping for any of the hundreds of people standing on the platforms. The waiting figures seemed to flash by faster than the speed of light.

"Must be an express train," Joe muttered. "Gosh, we'll be downtown in a jiffy."

Frank nodded, chuckling. "This is just as fast as the Flying Express from Bayport!"

The subway train raced through two more stations and roared on downtown until it slowly began to ease up on its speed. Then it was pulling into a bright tiled station with signs on the walls proclaiming West 4th Street and Washington Square .

"Wow," Frank said in low tones. "This is in Greenwich Village , right by Houston Street . How much you want to bet old Question Mark gets off here?"

"All the money in my pocket," Joe replied eagerly. He turned to look as the car doors opened. "There he goes! C'mon, let's get crackin'!"

They wormed their way out of the door they'd come in through, caught up in the moving throng. The boys almost bumped into the man they were following as he made his way to the station exit. But he didn't even glance their way and they fell in behind him and followed him outside. They could see by the street signs that they were at Fifth Avenue and Washington Square . The Grand Master of the Mysterians cult crossed the street and headed in his brisk gait through the high stone arch that led into the park that filled the square. The Hardy boys followed at a respectful distance.

Even though the day was cloudy and cold, the park was filled with people. Many were milling about in groups socializing or hurrying across the vast pavement and lawns headed to their destinations. Others played chess or checkers at the many tables lining the walks for that purpose, despite the cold inclement weather.

Frank couldn't help letting out a chuckle. "Nobody is even looking at Question Mark. You'd think these people here saw strange characters like him every day."

"They probably do," Joe pointed out. "After all, this is Greenwich Village , famous for its Bohemian lifestyle."

The man crossed the square and soon they were following him along Houston Street which was lined with apartment buildings, old brownstones, and commercial establishments. Joe began scanning the signs above the store windows in search of Quiggles Cleaners.

"Bobby and his dad live right around here somewhere," he said. "If we find that dry cleaning shop, maybe we can get their address from the proprietor."

"There it is," Frank said, pointing to the corner ahead. "See the sign? Quiggles Dry Cleaners. We'll have to come back later when we get a chance."

Joe nodded in anticipation. "Right. For now we have to follow His Highness. I hope he leads us right to the cult's hideout!"

Frank nudged him with an elbow. "And keep an eye out for Dad, too. He may be lurking around here somewhere."

Their quarry turned down the side street by the dry cleaning shop and headed downtown, his gait quickening. The boys proceeded cautiously, walking faster to keep up with him.

"He must be nearing his destination," Joe ventured, looking around at the street they were on. It was lined mostly by large warehouses, a few stores, and old apartment buildings. It wasn't exactly shabby, but it appeared to be mostly an industrial area.

The fast walking man was approaching a warehouse with a large dock area in front for truck deliveries. Suddenly a shift whistle blew, startling the boys as it pierced the air shrilly. Within seconds a stream of workers came pouring out of the building onto the pavement in front of the truck docks and onto the sidewalk. The cult leader seemed to get swallowed up in the sudden surging crowd and Frank and Joe panicked, darting ahead recklessly and bumping into some of the workers who were eager to make their way home.

"Watchit, sonny!" a big burly fellow growled at Frank, who had slammed square into him.

"Sorry, sir!" the boy yelped.

He grabbed his brother by the arm and yanked him off the curb into the street, away from the milling men. Both boys gaped ahead, looking for the man they had been following.

"There!" Joe pointed down the street. "Look!"

They caught just a glimpse of the back end of the man's cloak swinging around the corner about forty feet ahead. A sign post declared it was Broome Street .

"Sheez! Let's hurry!" Frank snarled, and he took off down the street pulling Joe along.

Joe started laughing and wriggled himself free of Frank's grasp. "You don't have to hold onto me. I am quite capable of keeping up with you."

"Yeah, but the last thing we need is to get separated. That would really mess things up!"

"What messed things up is that shift letting out right in our path. Which reminds me. It must be around three o'clock and I'm starving!"

"We'll just have to wait to eat," Frank grunted back, as they rounded the corner. "Oh no! He's gone!"

The boys stopped in their tracks. There were pedestrians on the side street, but Question Mark and his tall fur hat were nowhere in sight!

"Gosh!" Frank exclaimed in consternation. "We lost sight of him for not even a minute. Where did he go?"

The boys stood on the corner and warily looked down the street. It was like all the others in the neighborhood; small factories, warehouses, apartments, and some storefronts.

"He had to go into one of these nearby buildings," Joe observed. "Probably just the first four or five on either side. There wasn't enough time for him to go farther."

Frank nodded in agreement and they began to stroll slowly down the sidewalk scrutinizing the buildings. They looked through the windows of the storefronts but did not see the man inside any of them. One was a small diner. They were both hungry, not having eaten since breakfast, but they couldn't stop now for a meal, much to their chagrin.

Next to the diner was a narrow alley and a large warehouse on its other side with five storeys and rows of big windows on the upper ones. There was a loading dock in front, all closed up and looking like it wasn't in use these days. Halfway down the alley was a metal door and a fire escape ladder that hung down close to it and led up to the fire escapes along the windows and doors on the floors above.

"I bet he went into this warehouse," Frank said thoughtfully. "It looks like the perfect place for their headquarters and Inner Sanctum. Doggone! I wish we knew for sure."

Joe pointed to the building across the street. "That's a library reading room there. Dad says they have them all over New York . He often uses them as a place to rest and go over his notes when he's on a case. Why don't we sit in there and keep a lookout on this warehouse. In time somebody will surely go in or out. Maybe Question Mark himself."

Frank nodded. "Good idea. One of us can take off to go telephone Mother while the other keeps watch."

Joe agreed to this plan and the boys were just about to step into the street from the alley when the side door to the warehouse burst open and the cult leader they had been chasing, still wearing his cloak and hat, strode angrily out pulling behind him by the arm an elderly colored man.

"Now you just get out of here!" they could hear the Grand Master shout at the Negro. "I've had it with your constant snooping around. You were hired to clean the place, not spy on everybody. Scram now, and forget what you've seen here. And don't come back!"

"Yes, suh! Yes, suh!" the colored man responded, fear showing in his widened eyes.

The cult leader pushed the man roughly away and turned on his heels with an indignant expression. Then he strode back into the warehouse slamming the door behind him!

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Disclaimer

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.